THE ZOO IS SUBJECT TO THE WEATHER SO PLEASE CHECK THE LINK ABOVE FOR THE MOST CURRENT HOURS. THANK YOU!

ADMISSION

All admission prices include State and local taxes and we accept most major credit cards. No one under 18 admitted without adult. ALL proceeds go directly into the care of the reptiles. We appreciate your patronage and support!

Remember, while we love reptiles and all animals, Please show us your pictures, but, Do Not bring animals here. No outside animals are allowed on Zoo grounds for the health and safety of our reptiles, staff and guests. Also, do not bring in any wild reptiles either. Please visit our Rules page. Please email us for any assistance or questions: contact us.

New for 2019! Texas Reptile Zoo Tour Time! In an effort to provide a better experience and raise funds for the Zoo and Reptiles, there will be a Tour time scheduled each weekend day DURING LATE SPRING/ SUMMER WARM WEATHER TIMES. Tour times will be posted and guests will signup and reserve their spot online. This guided tour will be a closed private tour and only guests who have signed up online can attend. Your tour guide will lead you through the Zoo, show you a closer look at the Reptiles and show you feeding demonstrations so you can experience all the action! Links to signup and pay will be posted soon.

Texas Reptile Zoo Tour Time and Feeding demonstration Prices:

Coming Soon! WAITING FOR WARMER WEATHER, STAY TUNED.

Self guided Tour Admission Prices:

Every penny goes directly into the Zoo, Thank you for your support.

The Texas Reptile Zoo is entirely self funded and depends on your visit.

Click that Link . All Groups must be booked in Advance, we ask a minimum of 7 day notice.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT!

Your patronage provides for:

Food and Care for TRZ reptiles including many rehabilitated animals.

Staff wages

Utilities for TRZ

The State and Local economy

Conservation

Zoo Expansion

ZOO RULES

RULES AND INFORMATION

We accept all major credit cards and cash, no checks of any kind are accepted.

Parking is free. Avoid parking hassles by arriving early. With the exception of bus and Reserved accessible parking, Parking is on grass or gravel.

Parents are responsible for all children and all children under 18 must be accompanied by an adult.

Since we exhibit ectothermic animals, weather plays an important part in what you will see out in the Herpetariums and Outdoor Exhibits.

The Zoo is a smoke and tobacco free property. No smoking is allowed. This includes smoking in vehicles while on property. Please respect this rule, Thank you.

The Zoo is a casual, family-oriented environment. We suggest you dress comfortably, wear good walking shoes and check the local weather report before you leave for the Zoo. Ensuring that the Zoo is family friendly is an important part of the Zoo experience. In that spirit, we ask you to use discretion and common sense.

Due to the realistic environment settings, Zoo grounds are sometimes rough or uneven and walking paths may wind through exhibits. While our exhibit environments are similar to walking in a jungle or the woods with bushes, we have made accommodations for Accessibility to the best of our ability and welcome everyone. We have had several guests in wheelchairs and they toured the Zoo without issue. Our only exception for this year is our current existing restroom that is not accessible. Anyone with extra special needs, please contact us in advance.

For those with double wide strollers, max width should be 32″ for min. clearance.

Guests in wheelchairs and Moms with double wide “Bob” Strollers and Child wagons have navigated the Zoo without issue.

Current Zoo restroom facility is an existing small clean inside unisex restroom but that is not accessible. We hope to be able to build a new accessible restroom in the future.

Members, please be sure to bring your membership card and photo ID.

Members may be allowed to enter in separate line, based on traffic.

ZOO RULES

Please read and review all rules posted inside entrance doors and listed on this page and be in agreement before you enter the facility. Obeying all rules makes for a great experience for all patrons of the Zoo, as well as, the Reptiles.

No outside food or drink is allowed into the Zoo. Exceptions are: bottled water, baby food and formula. Ice chests and coolers are not allowed on Zoo grounds. *School groups will still be allowed to bring in lunches for their classes to outside picnic area only.

The Texas Reptile Zoo is a Zero Waste facility. There are no trash receptacles. This means you take away what you bring in. Please don’t allow your children to climb on anything around the Zoo.

Feeding of the animals is not permitted. Planned donations of food are accepted, please email.

Absolutely no outside reptiles or Any animals of any kind are allowed on Zoo grounds (1). Do not under any circumstances bring any animal onto Zoo grounds, This includes animals left in your vehicle. There are no exceptions to this rule, except, Patrons with certified service animals, please contact Zoo directly for specific policy before arrival, Thank you.

(1) For the health and safety of the Animals on exhibit, staff, and patrons, this rule will be strictly enforced and any animals discovered will be confiscated and placed into quarantine and offender will be subject to quarantine, holding and sanitation fees. Should you be traveling with your pet inside your vehicle, please park outside of zoo gates, thank you. Unfortunately a rule breaker recently hid their dog in their car and spread fleas to zoo grounds and our animals so this rule is now 100% enforced.

For the safety of Zoo guests, staff and animals on exhibit, the following items are not allowed on Zoo grounds:

No pets or animals, as mentioned above.

No glass containers

No alcohol

No balloons

No skates or wheeled shoes of any kind.

No bicycles on zoo grounds except at designated bicycle lock area for cyclists and commuters.

No scooters or wheeled platforms of any kind, (except for wheelchairs of course)

No smoking or tobacco use anywhere while on premises

No luggage or suitcases

No bags, backpacks, or baskets on wheels

No ice chests (exceptions for booked events)

ABOUT THE TRZ

The Texas Reptile Zoo is located in Central Texas (Bastrop County) and is an exhibit, education and behavioral research facility where patrons can view and learn about varied species of Reptiles from around the World.

Turning a Plant Nursery into a Zoo….

The Texas Reptile Zoo is a unique place with a unique history. We care about our animals and we welcome people to come and spend some time and relax while enjoying being in the reptiles environment. Conceived of in 1995 as a thesis project, in 2011, the decision was made to focus on educating the public with good information regarding reptiles and to show them the wonders, mysteries and behaviors of these species in a simulated natural environment. A retired ornamental plant nursery was chosen as the site for the Texas Reptile Zoo. The focus of this transition from nursery to Reptile Zoo was on adaptive reuse where the buildings and the majority of the materials of the nursery were converted for use in the Zoo. The old nursery greenhouses serve as perfect homes for the exhibits where we can take advantage of using the natural light of the sun for our reptiles. Nursery racks were converted to enclosures to create unique environments for the animals and visitors. A host of materials from around the nursery were also reused. The Texas Reptile Zoo can boast being a “green” facility where 95% is reused, from nuts and bolts, fiberglass, concrete blocks, all the way to leftover plants. Adapting the old nursery was filled with numerous challenges but we feel the end results follow in line with an environmentally friendly message that we hope everyone can appreciate. Other new materials used in the Zoo enclosures consist of certified green building products such as OSB or recyclable products. In 2017, the Texas Reptile Zoo successfully converted our cooling fans to solar power! The reptiles use the sun to heat up and we now use it too cool you down!

With that, the goal for the facility was to create the most natural environment for the reptiles as possible. The TRZ currently has over 200 reptiles on exhibit ranging from tropical to desert species. We hope to continue to expand and create even more exhibits, this is just the start…

The Texas Reptile Zoo has the largest display of uromastyx, oplurine and varanid lizards in the World.

Depending on the season and weather, the TRZ has the following featured feeding shows: See our Facebook page for Updates or listed times

Water monitor

Rock monitors

Croc Monitor

Crocodilians

Uromastyx

Plus other species’ various feedings throughout the day will be announced at that time. You never know what you may get to see.

A quick note about relocated Reptiles on Exhibit: Currently, we have some reptiles that were relocated from other environments that didn’t provide proper care to the animals and other unfortunate situations. On your visit, You can read about these animals and their story. The TRZ will appreciate your support with your patronage as it helps provide better care for the reptiles. Better yet, please join with a membership (link above) and visit them often. TRZ takes great pride in these reptiles rehabilitation, we are here for the reptiles and want to share their stories with you.

DIRECTIONS/CONTACT US

Thank you for visiting, our hours are listed on our hour page. You can Email Us: Send Mail

or Facebook message us. or call 512-766-6030 and leave a message. Due to high call volume, if you are inquiring about hours, they are kept current on our Google listing, link is on our HOURS page.

DIRECTIONS:

Conveniently located off Hwy 71 going east toward Bastrop. Take Exit FM 20 towards Lockhart, go down less than 1 mile South from HWY 71 on FM20:

Do not go past Shiloh Road, gate entrance is on the right at silver metal fence BEFORE Shiloh Road.

on FM 20, a few feet past Solomon lane on right. VERY LONG Silver Metal Fence gate on right side going south (west), When you see a metal Blue building that says Zoo on it take a right into the metal gate entrance. Please stay to right side of entrance when pulling in and watch for exiting vehicles, , Thank you!

You can’t miss it!

We are also listed on Google and Apple Maps, Easy!

FAQ

Can I bring my pet or a reptile I found to the Zoo or have my dog in my vehicle?

100% no. For the health and safety of our animals, staff and visitors, there are no outside animals allowed onto the Zoo grounds (please refer to our rules listing, ). Pets bring in foreign bacteria, parasites and other issues which jeopardize the health of 0ur animals. We love our dogs but do not bring them onto the premises, even in your vehicle.

Will you bring Reptiles to our school or home?

At this time, No. We find observing reptiles in natural environments offers a better educational experience than seeing a reptile in someone’s hands.

What is a behavioral research facility?

There is a shortage of information concerning reptiles behavior. The problem with observing their behavior is that it is time consuming and hard field work with many challenges. Here at TRZ, we have created small environments where we can observe the reptiles in a simulated natural environment with direct observed behavior based on weather and seasons. Everyday you can learn something new about why reptiles do what they do. Since they are ectothermic, meaning they rely on their environment for their body temperature, the use of natural sun and ground temperatures at the Zoo allows them to thermoregulate as needed just like in the wild. Other facets of behavior you can observe here are communication, feeding, and propagation. Since they are in captive environments and cared for by humans, some have grown accustomed to humans and respond to their names and other words. In a lot of cases, gaining their trust is hard earned! We encourage anyone with an interest in reptile observation to come out and spend some time and observe them.

What does the Texas Reptile Zoo consist of, what will I see?

We exhibit reptiles in replicated natural environments. Currently, the TRZ houses over 150 reptiles from snakes, small lizards, big lizards, crocs, turtles and tortoises. You will visit an indoor Serpentarium, a large tropical species greenhouse, a arid species greenhouse and various outdoor exhibits. Periodically, new exhibits open up and we will list them on our About page.

Do you offer any discounts on Admission?

The TRZ pays full price for all utility, food, and tax bills so we depend your patronage to be able to show you the best reptile display. Currently, we have a family pack discount and we have a discount for each adult who shows a valid US Military ID. Please also note that we have a advance booking group rate, please visit our home page for more information. We VALUE your visit and support. The Texas Reptile Zoo is a family owned business. The Zoo focuses on providing optimal care of our reptiles and our exhibits. Your patronage provides support for food and care of our reptiles including numerous rehabilitated reptiles, staff wages, utilities, taxes, conservation and will allow us to expand and make what is great, even better. We have numerous positive reviews on Facebook, trip advisor and google and it is the result of our ability to show you awesome reptiles as a outcome of your support.

Is is hot in the Herpetariums?

Unlike other Zoo Herpetariums where you observe the animals through glass from a cooler hall inside a building, similar to our own Serpentarium, our Herpetariums are Reptile Terrariums where you are IN their environment. Since reptiles are ectothermic, they are most active when their body temperature is warm and thusly, the Herpetariums are kept very warm. We do have environmental controls where we can control the temperature as well as circulation fans for as much visitor comfort as the reptiles allow. If you’ve been to an indoor Aviary, that is the closest in comparison. We suggest you dress lightly during the warmer months, drink lots of water and take breaks.

Why can’t I touch the enclosures OR the reptiles?

We want you to have the best experience possible here at the Zoo. It has taken a long time to get the reptiles acclimated to their environments where they feel secure. Keeping your movements to a minimum and hands away from enclosures is less threatening to them and thusly you will get to see them in a relaxed state. Most importantly, it is for your own health and safety, some larger reptiles may think your hand is food and they are on strict diets.

Can I use my flash on my camera?

We ask that you turn your flash off completely on your camera. In the serpentarium, the flash will not only startle the reptile but will reflect off the glass anyway not giving you a clear picture. It will also reflect off the glass and hamper the vision of your fellow guest. In the Herpetariums and outside, flash is not necessary at all and will startle the reptiles.

When is the best time to see the reptiles?

In the Serpentarium, if you casually walk through, the animals should be relaxed enough to be out and about and easy to see. In the Herpetariums, it is up to you and the reptiles. Casually walk through and you should see them. They usually wake up in the morning and come out to catch some sun to warm up. In the summertime, we also have feeding times throughout the day that you may get to see. Check the facebook page or the board when you come in.

Pick Sunny days, In the cooler months of spring in fall, on a sunny day, most of the outdoor reptiles will be out basking.

How long will it take to tour the Zoo?

That depends on the days traffic of visitors, the weather and how much time you’d like to spend watching the reptiles. As a general guideline, plan on about at least an hour and a half but stay as long as you like, till close of course! We also suggest catching one of the feeding demonstrations that may occur throughout the day. As we grow and add exhibits, so will your time spent here. Your support means a great deal to us and will allow us to grow!

Do you help reptiles in need? Are you a Rescue?

Currently, we have many reptiles that were relocated from other environments that didn’t provide proper care to the animals and other unfortunate situations. A great deal of time and money were spent focusing on getting these reptiles healthy as well as providing an great exhibit for them. On your visit, You can read about these animals and their story. The TRZ will appreciate your support with your patronage as it helps provide better care for the reptiles. All of our funding comes from you, our guest. Better yet, please join with a membership (link above) and visit them often. TRZ takes great pride in these reptiles rehabilitation, we are here for the reptiles and want to share their stories with you.

Why keep animals in a Zoo?

That is a good question. Notwithstanding the problems with development in the USA, developing countries (in which numerous endemic species of reptiles live) need infrastructure and are clearing lands and building roadways at alarming rates which causes a severe impact on local wildlife. Roadways and land clearing are among the largest deadly impacts to reptilian populations. Without information on different species, we may never know what has been destroyed. Zoos and research facilities play a vital role in understanding these species and, also as important, share with the World these unique animals. Steve Irwin, a conservationist, once stated. “If we can teach people about wildlife, they will be touched. Share my wildlife with me. Because humans want to save things that they love.” Zoos serve as symbols of animal education, conservation, protection, propagation and knowledge. It depends on the Zoo to provide the proper environment and keep the animals happy.

What about the Zoo rules?

A lot of our rules are similar rules you’ll see at any other Zoo facility and are just general common sense. They are simply in place to maintain the safety of the Zoo and the ability of our guests to see our Reptiles up close and personal. General rules are easy to follow and make for a great experience for all. The primary rule is to have fun and see the Reptiles!

SOCIAL MEDIA

Look for Texas Reptile Zoo on…..

Our hours are kept current only on Google and our website. Updates will be posted on our Facebook page.

MEDIA / SPONSOR / MEMBERSHIPS

For All Media requests, please contact us:

The Texas Reptile Zoo is currently seeking Sponsorships for Zoo Improvements/Expansion, Corporate or Otherwise. We have visitors from around the Globe and we are eager to provide marketing exposure for our supporters. Please Contact Us using send email link above, Thank you!

Currently, we have some reptiles that were relocated from other environments that didn’t provide proper care to the animals and other unfortunate situations. On your visit, You can read about these animals and their story. The TRZ will appreciate your support with your patronage as it helps provide better care for the reptiles. TRZ takes great pride in these reptiles rehabilitation, we are here for the reptiles and want to share their stories with you. Thank you for your support.